Carolinas Clean Energy Business Association

Tech giants and data center developers are demanding more power as soon as possible. If utilities, regulators, and policymakers move too quickly, they could unleash a surge in fossil-gas power-plant construction and drive up consumer costs. However, with some foresight, the data center boom could actually help our grid. Data center developers can make choices right now that will lower grid costs and power-system emissions. https://lnkd.in/eDiuJctg

10 new EV battery manufacturing plants will come online this year, including five in the Southeast. But will Trump admin policies bring a battery bust? "I see a boom that’s still in its early stages—although the uncertainty is dialed up to uncomfortable levels." Read more: https://lnkd.in/eEykXfqp

Renewable energy jobs are booming in the U.S.: “'We’re seeing [the solar and wind sector] grow because it takes relatively little time to design and implement, say, a solar farm, whereas coal-fired power plant, it may take 10 years to the permitting, and the cost is next to nothing compared to traditional energy sources,' Dr. Miller told Channel 9." https://lnkd.in/etGMgyU2

"As grid-fueled power supply becomes increasingly constrained, a class of large customers frantic for capacity is willing to pay top dollar for speed and certainty. This need has resulted in rampant speculative behavior by developers across the country. And while the challenge is real, not all aspects of facilitating new load growth necessarily require additional regulatory intervention. Here we consider the sources of the speculative behavior issue and a commonsense approach to addressing them." Read more: https://lnkd.in/ezqVGbkn

As energy demand continues to climb, the U.S. needs more reliable resources---and quickly. "Grid operators, reliability authorities and utilities are ringing alarm bells, and outdated views on grid reliability are colliding with slow-moving institutions." We need a new understanding of what reliability means. A new study shows that renewables and demand-side resources are the cheapest and fastest answer to this growing need, able to be built and deployed much more quickly than natural gas and nuclear. Read more: https://lnkd.in/egfPq7Ve

Global electricity use is set to rise by 4% annually through 2027, according to the International Energy Agency’s new Electricity 2025 report. This growth is being driven by industry, electrification, and data centers, among other factors. The report forecasts solar to play a key role in electricity generation, and asserts that rising electricity demand can be met by low-emissions sources. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/enSSeEFJ

ES Foundry Launches New Solar Cell Factory in Greenwood, South Carolina: A Game-Changer for U.S. Solar Manufacturing https://lnkd.in/gBvxu4aE

The U.S. solar industry has finally built enough factories to meet demand, able to produce nearly 52 GW of solar panels each year. Will orders from the new Trump administration derail this progress? https://lnkd.in/erfUwyyZ?

The Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability has released the first national-scale analysis of how the existing US power system can accommodate large, flexible loads without major capacity expansion. The study, co-authored by Tyler Norris, Tim Profeta, Dalia Patiño-Echeverri, and Adam Cowie-Haskell, finds extensive potential to accelerate adding data centers and other large loads while mitigating the need for expensive system upgrades, provided those loads have flexibility to adjust power consumption when the grid is stressed. Tune in on Wednesday, February 19 from 1-2pm ET to hear from three of the study's authors about key findings and implications. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gcKrP_ny. The full report is available here: https://lnkd.in/g6bMdidr

New episode of #TheConnectorIEI out now! IEI's Tarik J. Woods is joined by Carolinas Clean Energy Business Association Executive Director Chris Carmody and Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster Executive Director Deb Wojcik, PhD to discuss North Carolina's energy goals and the path to achieving them while balancing the needs of both residents and industry. #NCEnergyFuture 🎧 Tune in now: https://lnkd.in/ebS_9Ypa